(Bloomberg) — Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence firm Anthropic avoided further scrutiny after the U.K. antitrust authority concluded the deal did not qualify for a full investigation under merger rules.
Google did not gain “material influence” over Anthropic as a result of the deal, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Tuesday. The agency began analyzing the partnership after Alphabet (), Google’s parent company, committed to investing US$2 billion in the startup last year. Prior to the funding, Google also signed a cloud deal with Anthropic.
The CMA has led efforts by global regulators to ensure that big technology companies’ investments in the AI industry do not distort the market or result in a handful of powerful companies. The British agency expressed its concerns about what it called an “interconnected web” of partnerships and investments in the AI ecosystem.
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While Microsoft’s investment was approved in September, Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI is still under review by the CMA. The authority also cleared Microsoft’s deals with Mistral and Inflection after relatively quick investigations.
Tuesday’s ruling will come as a relief to Mountain View, Calif.-based Alphabet as multiple antitrust cases pile up in Europe and the U.S. — including one that threatens to force the .
Google’s investment in the US-based public benefit corporation, which specializes in security and artificial intelligence research, included the acquisition of non-voting shares and certain consultation rights on significant business matters.
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The CMA reviewed a significant volume of internal documents from the two companies and concluded that Google did not have the ability to exert material influence over Anthropic through the partnership, according to the agency.
“Anthropic is an independent company and our strategic partnerships and investor relationships do not diminish our independence in corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” an Anthropic spokesperson said following the CMA announcement.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has previously stated that Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does not require exclusive technology rights.
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